Decentralized exchange Lighter distributed $675 million worth of LIT tokens to early participants on December 30, marking the 10th largest airdrop in cryptocurrency history.
The perpetual futures trading platform allocated 250 million tokens representing 25% of total supply to users who accumulated points during 2025.
Blockchain data visualization platform Bubblemaps reported only $30 million in withdrawals from the Lighter platform following the distribution.
Approximately 75% of recipients continued holding their tokens as of December 31, according to blockchain analyst Arndxt.
What Happened
The $675 million distribution surpassed 1inch Network's (1INCH) $671 million airdrop but remained behind LooksRare's (LOOKS) $712 million distribution from 2022.
Uniswap's (UNI) 2020 airdrop maintains the record at $6.43 billion distributed.
Some recipients including pseudonymous investor Didi reported receiving six-figure allocations.
An additional 7% of airdrop recipients purchased more LIT tokens on the open market following the distribution.
The token traded around $2.71 with a $678 million market capitalization as of December 31, according to cryptocurrency intelligence platform Nansen.
Lighter raised $68 million in November from Founders Fund, Ribbit Capital and Haun Ventures.
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Why It Matters
Critics questioned the token's structure allocating 50% of supply to team members and investors with a one-year lockup followed by multi-year vesting.
The team received 26% while investors obtained 24%, percentages some community members called excessively high for decentralized finance projects.
The distribution model drew comparisons to rival platform Hyperliquid's tokenomics approach.
Cryptocurrency investor Casa warned current buyers may only benefit from short-term trades without significant growth in trading volume and user retention.
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